The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1887-02-17
pR. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S
SUNDAY SERMON.

onions Song, ill.,, 6,
Tho arch tecture OF the smoke is wondrous,
wheth / God with His finger curls it into
cloud, or rounds it into dome, or points it in
spire, or spreads it in wing; or, rs in the
text hostS 1t in pillar Watch it winding up
from the country farmhouse in the cary
morning, showing that the pastoral indus
tries have iegUn; or see it as ending from
the chimneys Of the city, telling OF tho
homes fed, tho ia tories turning out valu-
able fabric, the printing presses preparing
book and newspaper, and all the ton thou
sand wheels OF work in motion On clear
day this vapnr spoken Of mounts with such
buoyaucy, and spreads such delicate veil
across ths sky, aud traces such graceful lines
OF circle, semi circle and wave, and losses,
and sinks and scars, and scatters with such
a.fiuence OF shape and color, and suggestive
ne s. that il you have never noticed it you
are like q man who has all his lie lived in
Paris and vet never seen the Luxembourg, or
all his lifs in Rome and never seen tho Nat-
can, or all his life at LocSrort and never
seen Niagara. Forty four times the Bible
speaks Of the smoke, and 1t is about time that
somebody preachesa sermon recognizing this
strange, weird beautiful, elastic, charming,
terrific and fascinating vapor. Across tho
Bible SKY floats the smoke of Sinai, the smoke
of Sodom the smoke of All the smoke of the
pit the smoke of the vol anic hills when God
touches them, and in my text the glorious
Church OF God coming up out OF the wilder
like liars of smoke
In the first place, these pillars of smoke in
my text indie ate the suffering tho Church of
God has endured. What do mean by the
Church9 mean not building, not sect,
of all beliefs, love God and are trying to do
right. For many cent !ries the heavens have
been black with the smoke of martyrdom.
II set 81 Q by do you could girdle the earth
with the fires of persecution. Rowland Tay-
lor burned at Hadle'gh Latirer burned at
Oxford: John Rogers burned at Smthfeli;
John Hooper burned at Gloucester; John
Huss bu ned at Constance; Laurence Saun-
ders burned at Coventry; jean of Arc
.-burned at Rouen; Prote tants have some
times pointed to the Catholics as having
O monopoly Of Prosecutors; but both
Protestant and Catholic have practi ed
infamous cruelties. The Catholics during
the reign of Hunneric were by Protestants
rPut to the worst tortures, stripped of their
4 clothing, hoisted in the ar by pullevs W tn
weights suspended from their feet. then let
down, and ears and eyes, nose and tongue
were amputatcd, and red hot plates of iron
were put against the tenlerest part of their
sbodies George Bancroft, the historian, says
of the State of Maryland: I'm the land which
Catholics had opened to rrotestants mass
might mt be said publicly: no Catholic
priest or bishop might utter his faith in q
voice of persuasion; no Catholic might
teach the young. If hayward child
eff Papi.t would but become an apos-
tate, the law wrested for him from his
parents a hare of their property. Such
were tee methods adopted to prevent the
growth of Popery." Speaking Of Ireland.
Bancroft, the historian, says: "Such priests
as were rerm t.sd to reside in Ireland vera
required to be registered, and were kept
like prisoners at large within prescribed
limits. All PapistS exercising ecclesiastical
jurisdiction, all monks, fria's and regular
priests, and all priests not then actua ly in
parishes aud to be registered were banished
II nj pf fra rtafip
and, on return, of being hanged, drawn and
Juartered.n
Catholicism as well as Professionalism has
had its martyrs. 1t does seem as If when any
one sect got complete dominaucy in any land
the devil of persecution and cruelty took
possession of that sect. Then see the Cath.
olics after the Hugeuots. See the Gentiles
inter the Jews in Teuraine where a great
pit was dug and fire lighted at the bottom of
the pit, and 100 Jewish victims were con-
sumed. See the Presbyterian Parliament Of
England. more tyrannical in their
treatment of opponents than had
been the, criminal courts Persecution
against tho Ba1tsts by Pedo-Baptists.
Persecution Of the Established Church against
the Methodist Church. Persecution against
the Quakers. Persecution against the Pres
bYteriaus Under Emperor Diocetian one
hundred and forty-four thousand Christians
were massacred, and seven hundred thou
sand more of them died from Punishment
and exposure. Witness the sufferings of the
Wal'enses, of the Albigenses of the
HISTORIANS. Witness st. Bartholemew's
massacre. Witness the Duke of Alva
driving out of lifs eighteen thou;
Nero, and Decius, and Hildebrand, and Tor
oueniada, and Earl of NJ )ntfort and Lord
Clavelhouse. who, when told that he must
give account for his cruelties said: II have
no need to account to man. and as for God
will take Him in my own hands" A red
NnOIt ha OH hiot IF ,,i,,n
teen hundred years, a line of blood Not by
the hundreds of thousands but by the mill
ions, must We count those slain for Christs
sake. No wonder John Milton put the gre ans
of the martyrs to an immortal tune. writing:
"Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints
whose bones
Lie altered on the Alpine mountains
cold."
The smoke of martyrs homes and mar.
tyrs' bodies, il rolling up all at once, would
have eclirsed the MONDAY sun and turned
the BRIGHTEST dav the world ever saw into
midnight "Who is this that coneth up out
of the wilderness like pillars Of smoker
Has persecution ceased9 Ask that young
man who is trying to be Christ an in a store
or factory, who is the butt Of all the mean
witticisims of untelieving eurloyes. Ask
that wife whose husband makes Der fondness
for the house of God and even her kneel-
IAg prayer by tho bedside derision. and is
no more LII LOT EoF QoIy COlDIdulO IMAM
filthy crow would be fit companion for a
robin or golden oriole. Comprom Sc with
the world and surrender to its convention
alites and it may let you Alone but all who
will live cody in Christ Jesus must suffer
persecution Be theatre going, card-play-
ing. wine drinking, round dancing Christian,
and you may escape cTiti ism and social
pressure Bat be an up AMI down, out and
out follower of Christ, ana wording will
wink to wording as he Sreaks your
name, and you will b, put in many
doggerel and snutbei by tLNse not
When the bridge at Ashtabula broke
and let down the mo Of the carload of pas
sengors to instant death. Mr. P. P. Bliss was
seated on one side of the aisle of the car
writing down a Christian song viii he was
compost e and on the Of her side a group OF
men We're playing cards Whose landing
place in eternity would you prefer--that Of
F. p Bliss, the Gospel singer, or of the ca.
players'
Thu great complaint comes from the thea
tres alb ut the ladios' high hats, be ause they
oh tr' ct the view of the stage and a lady
reEo ter asked n, the other day what
thouch5 n'out it, ard told her TINT II ths
de cat pi tlrcs Of actresses in the show
windows of Brooklyn and Now York ere
&C uratc p!cturs Of what roes on in many
Of the theatres NIGHT by night, then Il you'll
le well IL O ladies hats wora n mile high
rs to j.arrp'otely o'struct tho vision. Il
procsscl Christians 90 to such plnoss duriui
th- week, no ONE will ever perSscute thar
for their religion, for they have none
aad they arc tho joke OF bell But let Their
lie con ratei AMI Christ an life arc
ttey will soon run AGAINST sncer.ng oppo
sition. Fer compromise Christ ar
character an ca ticle now, ] ut for conse
Grated behari r i:na"e and car cature
For the holy, thanks to The God OF free
Ameri a, there a'e no swords CT fiery stakes
bit for the S us of thou anls Of the good
n ncurnt,ve sansa. rack, and gibbet, en-
Torque NADIA. The symbol Of the dome ii,
and soc al aud private and public sufferin.
OF q great multtuds of Gods dear children
pillars OF sma.:e
What an exciting scene In India when dur
ing the Sepoy rebellion q regiment of High
laGders came no and found the dead body Of
one OF General Wheeler's daughters, wht
had been insulted and mauled and slain by
the Sepoys. So greet was the wrath against
these mur'erers that TIE Scotch regimen,
sat down, and cutting of the hair of th.
dead dau'htsr of General Wheeler, they